PAnzA Presents
Impacts of AI in Relational/Therapeutic Contexts
a professional development workshop
with
Dr Brigette Viljoen
23 Apr 2026 at 7:30 pm
This workshop is open to registrations from:
- Psychosynthesis Guides (counsellors and psychotherapists) - in active practice or retired.
- PAnzA Members: Free
- Non-members: $40
This workshop will be recorded and available on the PAnzA website for PAnzA members.
Workshop Registration
Workshops are free for PAnzA members. If you are a member, please log in to register.
If you are not a PAnzA member, enter your email address and request registration.
(If you are unable to register as a non-member and you believe that you satisfy the 'Audience' criteria, please contact PAnzA)
Any questions about registering for this workshop?
‘ I asked ChatGPT if I was depressed.’
‘ I come home, get on my phone … you know … doom-scroll. I know I shouldn’t but I’m just so tired all the time.’
‘Can I bring my avatar to our next session?’
‘Can I show you my sleep data?’
Is AI conscious?
Is AI the end of human-to-human therapy ?
Are our phones / devices always listening?
What is ‘AI sycophancy’, ‘AI-associated psychosis’, ‘AI-mediated delusions’?
Actually, what is AI?
In this workshop we’ll consider the position of AI in consciousness, its serving and limiting dimensions in terms of psychospiritual wellbeing and, how this ‘here-to-stay’ technology can be approached openly and wisely.
Dr Brigitte Viljoen is a registered psychotherapist and has a private practice in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. Brigitte also lectures at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) in the Graduate Diploma and Masters Programme for Psychotherapy and is a Paper Lead in both. Brigitte serves on the Public Issues Committee for the Association of Psychotherapists in Aotearoa New Zealand (APANZ), which covers a broad range of issues (including the topic of Artificial Intelligence and its application and impact in people’s mental health). Brigitte has a special interest in the impact of human development and people’s social media use and how this might impact on their attachments and ways of relating. Brigitte has recently conducted research into people’s experiences interacting with AI chatbots, social robots and/or digital avatars and the ethics around this topic. Brigitte was a speaker on an Ethics Panel at the European Chatbot and Conversational AI Summit, in Scotland in 2025, as well as other presentations on these topics in New Zealand. Brigitte consults with leading international figures in the AI ethics, human-AI interaction and AI-therapy/mental health space. Brigitte is a founding member of the international AI Mental Health Collective.
